Training 8/17 to 8/23

Monday 8/17: Planned day off. No running

Tuesday 8/18: 10.8 miles in 74 minutes

Early morning run. Did 12 x 1 minute pickups with 1 minute rest between each pickup. Felt pretty good.

Wednesday 8/19: 6 miles in about 45-46 minutes

Very easy run. Went with no watch so the time is a guess.

Thursday 8/20: AM: 4 miles in 31 minutes PM: 12.5 miles in 81 minutes

AM run with Heather, very easy. PM Saunders at Rye 10k. Warmed up 2.3 miles, 6.2 mile race in 32:46, 4 miles cool down. See race report below for all the details.

Friday 8/21: 8 miles in 62 minutes

Saturday 8/22: 21 miles in 2 hours and 26 minutes

Very early morning run, out the door at 5:45am to beat the heat. 10 miles easy in 74 minutes, next 5 miles in 32:55 (6:35 pace), next 5 miles in 29:50 (5:58 pace), 1 mile easy. Then it was off to the White Mountains to attend a wedding at the Mt Washington Hotel. It was a good time!

Sunday 8/23: 7 miles in 53 minutes

Ran with Heather at Lake Kenoza on the trails. Trying to beat the heat by staying in the woods.

Total: 69.3 miles

This was a very nice week. I got in a planned day off, a very good race, and I still got in about 70 miles of running with a nice long run workout on Saturday. Starting to feel strong, things are starting to come together well, just need to keep at it and stay healthy.

Saunders at Rye Harbor 10k

Thursday I headed up to Rye NH for the Saunders at Rye Harbor 10K (Part of the Seacoast Road Race Series). The drive up was real nice as the last few miles are right along the coast. It really is a very beautiful area. Parking for the race was a bit tough as it was all on street parking, but I got there early enough to get a spot about a third of a mile from the start finish area. As I walked over to the registration area and met up with some friends and teammates that were running. After grabbing my number and stuff I went out for a warm up with Jim Johnson, Seth Williams, Pat Ard, Kevin Alliette and Dave Quintal. After changing into racing gear it was off to the starting line. At the starting line I ran into a couple other Whirlaway runners in Chris Hamel and Dan Princic. So the Whirlaway had a very nice team there with Pat, Seth, Chris, Dan and myself. A couple of other fast faces at the starting line included Sam Wood and John Mentzer, who has been tearing it up lately.

The race went off and a large pack of about 9-10 guys together through about the mile, which went by in 5:07. This was the last split I got till the 1 mile to go split, yes I forgot my watch. The group was being led by John, Jim, and Kevin. Over the next mile, which is a very slight up hill, the lead group was down to John, Jim, Kevin, Dan, and myself. This group stayed together till about the 3 mile mark, which is right after a short up hill, It was here that some moves were made. John and Dan went to the front followed by Jim and Kevin, I started to go out the back door a bit. I did not feel bad, but I was not able to cover the moves and stay in contact. From here on out the course is down hill to flat, making for a very fast second half of the course. From my position in 5th place I watched the race unfold in front of me. Over the next 2 miles John continued to lead and dictate the pace, Dan fell off the lead and Kevin went after John with Jim chasing not to far behind. I was in chase mode, but I did not feel like I was making up much ground. Turning into the last mile plus of the race along the ocean, I could see that I was catching up to Dan, John was still in first followed closely by Kevin, with Jim in 3rd a ways back then Dan in 4th and myself in 5th. I went by the 1 mile to go (5.2 miles into the race) split in 27:30. It was only at this point that I realized I was actually running a pretty good race and had a good shot at getting under 33 minutes, which I had only done 3 times. I really tried to pick it up and catch up to Dan....but it was not to be. I made up a ton of ground but I ended up finishing 5 seconds in back of Dan in 32:46.

I was pretty happy with this race, 32:46 is my second fastest 10k ever and this result shows that the hard training is starting to payoff. The Whirlaway team also had a very nice showing with Dan Princic in 4th place, Myself in 5th place, Pat Ard in 6th place, Chris Hamel in 7th place, and Seth Williams in 10th place. Also want to give some props to Jim Johnson, the crazy guy runs 2-3 races a week and is still killing it every time out. He had a great race in running 32:20 for 3rd place.

SeaCoast Online Article

Results

Race winner John Mentzer

Training 8/10 to 8/16

8/10 Monday: AM: 8 miles in 60 minutes PM: 4.7 miles in 35 minutes

Very easy on both runs today. Did my evening run with Heather.

8/11 Tuesday: AM: 4.3 miles in 33 minutes PM: 13 miles in 89 minutes

Easy run in the morning. Track in the evening. 25 minutes of warm up followed by 800m in 2:35 90 seconds rest, 800m in 2:35 directly into 1200m at 87-90 second pace (went 4:21) 90 seconds rest into 5 x 1000m, goal pace of 77 seconds a lap (about 5:10 pace) with 90 seconds rest. Did all five with in a couple of seconds of the 3:13 goal time. After the 90 seconds rest did 800m in 2:30 with 90 seconds rest, then 800m in 2:30 directly into 1200m at 87-90 second pace (went 4:23)

8/12 Wednesday: 7 miles in 52 minutes

8/13 Thursday: 10 miles in 63:30

This was a progression run. Started with 3 miles at around 7 minutes pace, then 3 miles at 6:10 to 6:20 pace, then 4 miles at 6:00 to 6:10 pace. I kept all miles in the goal pace zones except my last 2 miles. I got lazy and lost my concentration during mile 9 and put up a 6:12...just a bit slower than it should have been. So I put a bit more effort into the pace in the last mile and went way too fast by running 5:42.

8/14 Friday: 9.6 miles in 70 minutes

8/15 Saturday: 16.4 miles in 1 hour and 52 minutes

This run did not go as planned. Plan was to run 5 miles easy, 5 miles at 6 minute pace, 1 mile easy, then 5 miles at 5:50 pace. I got outside a bit later than I wanted and it was already getting way too hot for this kind of run. I got in the 5 miles easy and then the 5 miles at 6 minutes pace, but by the time I was done with that part I was sweating bad and suffering pretty good in the hot and humid air...so I decided to make some adjustments and get in what I could. The rest of my work out after the one mile easy went. One mile at 5:50, half mile easy, 1 mile at 5:50, half mile easy, 1 mile at 5:50 pace, then easy running back home....which was barely running at all....it might have qualified as a walk back home. It took me forever to stop sweating, I was dizzy, and felt nauseous. Totally awesome. So I decided to take an ice bath after, not only for my legs, but just to cool me off. Jumped on the scale before getting in the ice bath.....126.2 pounds!!! I left the house at just over 132 pounds.

After trying to melt myself outside, Heather and I went to Jaffery NH for the The 20th Annual Jaffrey Festival of Fireworks. It claims to be the most amazing display of fireworks in New England! I would have to agree! It was actually pretty awesome. If you like fireworks check it out.

Sunday 8/16: 7 miles in 54 minutes

Heather and I went over to Maudslay State Park in an effort to avoid the heat and get in a run in the woods. This is a great park for a run with some awesome trails. It was nice to get off the roads for a bit and enjoy a run in such a nice setting.

Total Miles: 80 miles

Another solid week of running and workouts. The only hicup was Saturdays long run / workout. But I think I made the right move in adjusting for the heat and not trying to kill myself by forcing the workout portion of the run. Next week will be a lower mileage week with one day off. Thursday I will be racing at the Saunders 10k in Rye NH.

Training 8/3 to 8/9

8/3 Monday: AM: 7.8 miles in 60 minutes PM: 4.6 miles in 35 minutes

8/4 Tuesday: 12.3 miles in 83 minutes

25 minute warm up to the Andover High track. 16 x 400m all at 76 seconds except one at 75 seconds and one at 77 seconds. 100m rest in 60 seconds or less between each interval. This went right into 2800m on/off 400's in 78,93,79,92,77,93,78. The faster sections were pretty much right on, the slower sections should have been 90 seconds each. Still pretty good.

8/5 Wednesday: 7 miles in 53 minutes

8/6 Thursday: AM: 9 miles in 68 minutes PM: 6.4 miles in 48 minutes

Very easy morning run. Afternoon run was done on the Merrimack River Trail with Seth Williams. We went out pretty easy and finished up with a solid pace. It was a good run and nice to be off the pavement for a bit.

8/7 Friday: 9.6 miles in 70 minutes

8/8 Saturday: 20 miles in 2 hours 23 minutes plus Ice Bath

Met up with fellow Whirlaway teammates Dan Princic and Mark Hudson for a long run from the Whirlaway. It was early and the weather was actually perfect for a long run, nice and cool with a little bit of a breeze. We headed out through Haverhill, Salem, Plaistow, and Atkinson before finishing back up in Methuen at the Whirlaway. It was a real good run and a good confidence booster. I felt pretty strong for most of the run and my quickest miles were the last few. With this run I put in 91 miles over the last seven days....my highest seven day total ever!

8/9 Sunday: 7 miles in 53 minutes


Total Miles: 83.7

This was really a very good week. I was very happy with my Tuesday workout and the mileage came up nice with out too much trouble. I am tired, but I am not having any issues with the hamstrings or anything else. Next race is Saunders 10k on August 20th

Beach to Beacon 10K

Saturday started early as the alarm went off at 4:30 am. Heather and I were in the car and on our way to Cape Elizabeth Maine by 5:00 am. I was pretty excited for this race. I have always wanted to run the Beach to Beacon 10k and now thanks to Heather surprising me with entry into the race I was going to experience my first Beach to Beacon. The picture to the left is of the Portland Head Light. This is where the race finishes. The goals for this race was to put in a good effort, try to be in the top 50, and get close to or under 33 minutes. Preview Article from B2b Website

We pulled into Cape Elizabeth right on time at about 6:45am and parked about a half mile away from the starting area. Heather and I walked down to the starting area to pick up our numbers and timing D-tags. It was pretty nice out, the temps were still cooler, but the air was still pretty humid. We pick up our numbers and the first thing I notice is that Heather has an elite number and I don't. I was not to happy about that, especially since I knew almost everyone who usually finishes around me had an elite number. So back to the car I headed to get in my warm up. I did a little over 2 miles and it was time to head off to the starting area. Heather and I made our way to the front as far as we could go with out an elite number. Once at the front I ran into and chatted with Tammie Robie and Melissa Donais two of the faster runners from the New England area. The start was delayed a little bit, and it was now starting to get hot, but after the National Anthem and a little talk by Joan Benoit Samuelson herself, we were off and running.


The fist part of this race was just craziness. People were all over the place, high schoolers were weaving in and out of people at 4:30 pace, and there was no where to move. I tried to stay calm and tried to slowly move my way through the crowd and get to the first mile at a reasonable pace. The first mile is slightly down hill to flat, I hit the first mile in 5:17 which was OK, but I thought I should have been a little quicker given the downhill to flat aspect of the course. After the mile I thought I was moving OK, I was passing people and getting myself into a position where I thought I was with the people I should be running with. The only problem was I hit the 2nd mile in 5:24. A little bit slower than I wanted. Just a lack of concentration and knowing what pace I was actually going. A that point I made a conscious effort to put in some work and pick it up a bit. During the third mile I had a small run in with a female elite runner who thought she owned the road. She had decided that it did not matter if I was next to her, she wanted the inside of the corner that we were going around and she took it.....by bumping into me repeatedly until I gave it up and let her have it. I was all set with that, so I surged a bit to get away from her. I hit the 3rd mile in 5:13 and after a short hill the 5k mark in 16:28. So I was on pace for just under 33 minutes which I would have been very happy with. Just after the 5k mark the race goes through downtown area which was packed with people cheering and yelling, it was really pretty cool to see that many people packed into a small area cheering for all the runners. Throughout the next couple of miles I passed a lot of people who had gone out way to fast. During this stretch I caught up with a small group of 3 guys and elite female Sally Meyeroff. This is the group I pretty much stayed with the rest of the way. We hit the 4 mile mark in 5:21. During the next mile our small group worked pretty well together taking turns at the front and pushing to catch a few more people along the way we hit the 5 mile mark in 5:24. The last mile was a tough one for me. The course really starts to roll and the hills, although small, were really starting to wear on me. I did my best and hung in there with the small group I had been working with. Soon we were turning into Fort Williams and heading for the finish. I hit the 6 mile mark in 5:30. The finish of this race is probably one of the coolest I have ever experienced outside a major marathon. You come into the finish on a small paved path surrounded by people. One section feels almost tunnel like with a very high wall on one side with people on top yelling and cheering down at you then you shoot out onto a short grass section surrounded by hundreds of people cheering and into the finish at then Portland Head light. A truly beautiful area. I managed to muster up a bit of a kick and finished the last 0.2 miles in 62 seconds. My total time was 33:12 for 44th place overall. Goals accomplished!


Photo of race winner Ed Muge of Kenya
Splits:

1. 5:17
2. 5:24
3. 5:13
4. 5:21
5. 5:24
6. 5:30
.2 62

Total 33:12


Race Article B2B Website

Results

Overall this was a great day and a great race. I would tell anyone to check this race out. The course is great, its well organized, and the towns people really come out in support of this great event. Just sign up right away. This years race sold out in 2 hours! Also wanted to say congratulations to Heather on her great race. Heather finished as the 30th overall female in 39:40. Nice race!

Week of 7/27 to 8/2

7/27 Monday: 8 miles in 61 minutes

7/28 Tuesday: 12 miles in 81 minutes

Track work with Fernando. 30 minute warm up then into 1 lap (15 sec rest), 2 laps (30 sec rest), 3 laps (45 sec rest), 10 minutes (90 sec rest), 3 laps (45 sec rest), 2 laps (30 sec rest), 1 lap (400 meter jog rest) All work was done at 5:20 pace. After 400 meter rest I did one 1200 as 80 sec, 90 sec, 80 sec, quarters. Did 16 minutes of warm down with Heather.

7/29 Wednesday: 7 miles in 54 minutes

7/30 Thursday: 8 miles in 60 minutes

Did a 1 minute pickup at the beginning of miles 3-8.

7/31 Friday: 4 miles in 31 minutes 4 x 15 sec strides during run

8/1 Saturday: 4.5 miles in 35 minutes, 10k in 33:12

Ran Beach to Beacon 10k today. Finished 44th overall in 33:12. Race report to be posted.

8/2 Sunday: 14.3 miles in 105 minutes

Today I went over to Newburyport to check out the High Street mile. It was a great event to watch and something I may have to try out in the future. Congrats to Kevin, Pat, Matt, Brett, Infa, and Shepp, nice job out there! Results

Weeks Total: 64 miles

This was a solid week. The miles were a bit low due to trying to freshen up the legs for the race, but overall it was a good week. The workout on Tuesday went well and the race on Saturday, while not great, was a good indicator of where my fitness is. There is still lots of work to be done in order to get ready for the marathon and the miles and work will increase over the next few weeks.